


The Night Watch

by HeadintheCloudsForever



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadintheCloudsForever/pseuds/HeadintheCloudsForever
Summary: Nymphadora Tonks is assigned night watch in the Order over a Death Eater's house for the first time since her induction and is nervous about performing after an accident that caused an injury to her wand hand, so Remus Lupin, volunteers to stay up with her and tells her a story of the first time he kept watch in the First Order of the Phoenix. Remadora, RLNT, AU. One-shot.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Kudos: 7





	The Night Watch

**The Night Watch, A Remadora Oneshot**

**Hello Everyone! In my other current work-in-progress story,** **Worth the Risk** **, there's a chapter where Lupin mentions the first time the two of them went on a mission together, though I don't exactly write it out in a flashback, and I thought it would be fun to make it a nice little single-chapter story, sort of a missing segment if you will, but I like it so bloody much that I might just go ahead and find a way to sneak this into one of my other Remadora stories for the fandom. This is a standalone story. You don't have to read** **Worth the Risk** **for this to make sense. The two stories can exist as part of the same universe. Or not, whichever, it doesn't matter to me.**

 **Of course, I plan to continue updating my epic long fic** **Worth the Risk,** **as well as my other Harry Potter-Remadora stories, but I just wanted to get this little missing chapter out of my head first.**

 **This little short-story takes place in the week's aftermath following Tonks's injury in** **Worth the Risk** **, where she's mostly healed but not all the way and as a result, still VERY unsure of herself and her abilities, hence her reluctant and nervous attitude in this story which may some a bit OOC to some, but I think it fits, somewhere in between her healing and the Boggart chapter, and it's up to our favorite DADA Professor and werewolf Remus to make sure Tonks doesn't use that talent for trouble and** **_stays_ ** **out of trouble XD.**

**I absolutely love Remus and see him as one of the most friendly and compassionate members in the OOTP and totally perfect for Tonks, and I could absolutely see Remus foregoing sleep to try to put Dora's mind at ease.**

**When I thought of this, I just felt compelled to write the scene as it played out in my mind, and hope that you, my lovely readers, enjoy Remus and Tonks's first Night Watch.**

* * *

**XXXXXX**

**TONKS** grumbled quietly to herself as she tossed her black purse to the cement floor of the rooftop that she and her new partner in the Order of the Phoenix, Remus Lupin, had decided to camp in overnight. It wasn't exactly comfortable up here. In truth, it was cold, and the clouds that hung overhead promised rain if judging by the rolling black and purple thunderclouds in the not-so-far-off distance were anything for Nymphadora Tonks to go off, really.

Professor Dumbledore had assigned the pair of them to work together for an entire year, and then re-evaluate the needs of their partnership and go from there, though it didn't take an intellectual eccentric genius like that wizard to know that Tonks already, in such a short amount of time, approved of Remus Lupin, despite knowing his deepest, darkest secret that he was a fully-fledged werewolf.

She had been hoping for the right time to tell the man that she knew, though the more rational side of her brain told her to wait. That when her partner was ready, _he_ would come to _her_. At least, that's what Tonks tried to tell herself. The young witch blinked and forced her mind to return to the mission at hand, temporarily shoving thoughts of her partner aside for right now. Tonight's mission merely involved surveying Evan Rosier's home.

A well-known Death Eater who had somehow managed to escape a sentence in Azkaban Prison behind bars, though Tonks was sure, she was sure, he knew.

Rosier knew the whereabouts of Lord Voldemort's locations, what the Dark Wizard's plans were regarding the fate of Harry Potter, how the Dark Lord thought, how he felt (if anything at all Merlin blesses the Dark Lord's soul _not_ ) almost everything about him. Or so, Tonks was of a mind to firmly believe.

Tonks heaved an exasperated sigh and took a lock of her shoulder-length wavy dark purple hair in her thumb and forefinger to twist it around her finger.

A nervous habit of hers whenever she needed to think. Tonks's thin brows furrowed in a frown as she sat on the edge of the rooftop, her legs dangling precariously over the edge, though Tonks knew that she would not fall off.

The young Auror sighed and flexed the fingers of her wand hand, gritting her teeth in the effort to remain silent and keep from crying out in pain. Her fingers still shook slightly, a result of nerve damage from when she'd landed on it during a botched Disapparation attempt that resulted in a Splinched arm.

Even with her new wand, Tonks was reluctant to use it. Earlier this morning at breakfast, she'd attempted a simple charm spell by trying to lift the teapot which laid in the center of Number 12, Grimmauld Place's kitchen table and pour herself and Sirius a cup of hot chamomile tea, and thanks to the incessant shaking of her hand that she could not seem to tamp down, she'd spilled it all over her poor cousin's new maroon jacket, though he'd been able to clean it up.

He'd insisted no harm was done, though judging by the way his posture had stiffened, and his jaw muscles had tensed, Tonks could tell Sirius was annoyed.

So, for that reason and that reason alone, she'd adamantly refused to try out her new wand from Mr. Ollivander himself, and Tonks frowned down at her brand-new wand, which rested on the rooftop, just barely grazing her thigh.

Tonks let out another tired sigh and craned her neck to look at the sky. There were some nights, nights like now, where she wished for nothing more than to be back in the comfort of her own flat, her own bed in downtown London, though she was currently being forced by not only Remus but also Dumbledore to take a spare bedroom at Headquarters while Tonks healed.

She solemnly _swore_ that this wild idea of Professor Dumbledore's, by laying in wait outside Death Eater Evan Rosier's townhouse in Bristol, was going to get her and Lupin killed if they weren't careful, considering her hand wasn't fully healed yet and still shook. The only way it stopped was if she sat on it.

Tonks grumbled to herself under her breath and bit down on her bottom lip as she recollected Professor Dumbledore 'volun-telling' her and Remus to come here tonight, following the conclusion of an Order meeting and a lavish dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, prepared for by Molly, who'd always insisted on cooking for the Order of the Phoenix following the end of long, boring meets.

"Who's on watch tonight?" Sirius had barked at the kitchen table as he'd gotten up to clear his plate and help Molly clean up, despite the matronly ginger-haired witch insisting that she needed no help and for him to sit down.

Her cousin's shoulder had bumped against her still-injured arm in the process, a gesture for which Sirius had earned himself a withering look from Remus, though the man made no mention of what his best friend had done. Sirius either had ignored the pained look Tonks shot him or didn't notice and was completely oblivious at how much that had really hurt her arm just now and continued.

"I've lost track of the damn _days_ cooped up in this bloody house," he growled, glancing around Headquarters worn, tattered walls in disgust. "Is it my turn again?" he asked, his gaze flitting to everyone else.

"Well, if you're already volunteering, Black, somehow, I don't think the rest of us will mind," Arthur Weasley laughed good-naturedly, looking at Sirius.

"No, Arthur, it isn't your turn tonight, dear," Molly reminded her husband gently from her place at the stovetop, where she seemed to be eyeballing the brownies she had just pulled out of the oven with a scrutinizing gaze. "You went on night watch but just two nights ago, don't you remember, Arthur? I think it quite possibly might be my turn again. I know all of us here at this table are tired, and while I think there's not one of us here that would argue against getting a good night's sleep, it's only fair that we all take turns doing our duty. I don't mind, dear," she added in an exasperated voice, speaking to Sirius. "It's only for a couple of hours, and whoever I take with me, I'll be waking them up."

"Miss Tonks," Professor Dumbledore's quiet, and reserved voice spoke up from the long end of the rectangular table. His fingers were laced together, his arms resting on the kitchen table, and the ancient old wizard clad in a brilliant set of purple robes pattered with tiny stars was observing Tonks over the rim of his half-moon spectacles in a manner that made the young Auror feel uneasy.

She blanched, feeling the color drain from her already pale cheek, and slowly turned on the heel of her black boot. Tonks had fully been about to beg off dessert (she had a sinking suspicion Molly and Remus both were _trying_ to get her fat, insisting that she needed to eat more, that she was too skinny!).

Tonks was getting a splitting headache, and her hand wouldn't cease his shaking, and she wanted nothing more than to go to her room and to sleep.

Though the sudden curt, clipped tone of the Headmaster's voice gave her pause. Slowly but surely, the young witch hesitantly turned around in the entryway of the kitchen that led out to the hallway and faced the old wizard.

"Y—yes?" she breathed, her voice coming out in stammers, her fingers curled around the strap of her little black purse for support. Anything at this point to try to quell the violent shaking spell in her wand hand, she would.

Professor Dumbledore was smiling at Tonks in a way the Auror wasn't quite sure what to make of, and Tonks wasn't entirely sure that she liked this sudden shift in countenance in the man's behavior. It wasn't often he addressed her personally, much less by her name. More often times than naught, he chose to address the Order of the Phoenix as a collective group, only seeking out individuals whom he had personal matters with which to discuss, so this was…

 _New_. Very, _very_ new, to hear him address her personally in this manner.

In appearance, Dumbledore was rather eccentric, if Tonks was being honest with herself, and whenever he opened his mouth, it was like hearing a bird sing for the first time. His voice, so quiet and reserved, had the authority and power to halt you right in your tracks, just as he had purposefully done to Tonks now.

Albus was old, and his deep wrinkles seemed to carve a map of his life on his still agile and mobile facial features. His twinkling eyes were framed by thick white eyebrows and his greying beard was egregiously, almost stupidly long.

His bright blue eyes shone over the rim of his spectacles as he regarded Nymphadora Tonks in silence for a moment, as his teeth shone with a gleam.

"Hmm?" Tonks asked, wriggling her brows at Dumbledore and feigning innocence, though she could already tell, so could everyone else, he wasn't fooled. Dumbledore wasn't _stupid_ , oh, far from it, the man was an eccentric genius, and _she_ knew just as _he_ did, she was trying to get out of night watch, something admittedly she had never really done before, and did not want to admit it to anyone else currently in this kitchen or seated at the table right now.

Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts Headmaster, and founder of the Order shot Tonks what she supposed was meant to be a disarming little half-smile, and never once averted his scrutinizing gaze from hers.

"Why don't you take first-night watch tonight, Miss Tonks? I want someone monitoring Evan Rosier's house at all times. There's been suspected activity in Knockturn Alley, reports of the man attempting to lure suspects into Echo Alley to do what, Merlin only knows, but knowing Lord Voldemort's followers, it isn't anything good. To torture them, I suspect," he sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, lifting his glasses off of his face slightly.

Tonks froze, feeling quite certain that the 'question' the Headmaster had just posed to her was not, in fact, a question at all, regardless of its phrasing.

"I…um…I—I don't…" Tonks stammered, hesitating as her brain felt like it was racing a mile a minute as she struggled to formulate an apt response. She frowned, knitting her brows together. She supposed that it was fair that she, as a member of the Order, however new she might be to the ranks, would be expected to take a turn at handling the night watch on this particular mission.

 _Just like everyone else_ , her conscience reminded her unhelpfully, though it did nothing to assuage her worry, and she didn't exactly know _how_ this worked.

Tonks bit the inside wall of her cheek and felt her fingers curl into an even tighter fist over the strap of her purse as she blinked owlishly at Dumbledore.

He was smiling at her, as though he knew something that she did not, and was seemingly being incredibly patient in waiting for Tonks to answer him.

What was she even supposed to _watch_ for? It had to be going on… Tonks frowned and glanced at the clock above the mantle in the kitchen. Two a.m.

What, by Merlin's Beard, business could Death Eater Evan Rosier have at two o'clock in the bloody morning that required her to maintain a night watch?

Surely, he, like any _other_ wizard or witch on this planet, would be _asleep_. Not to mention, during the witching hour, the night sky was pitch black, and not even all the Lumos Wand-Lighting Charms in the world could help her to see better, and in downtown Bristol and London, strange noises were always around, given the loud exhaust of Muggle cars, buses, and their train systems.

How would she even know which noises warranted paying any attention to?

Tonks felt her lips part open to speak as she licked her lips to moisten them, though no moisture came, and was saved the trouble of responding by Remus.

Lupin looked towards Tonks with slightly furrowed brows, his lips pursed in a thin line as he no doubt took notice of the unnaturally pale sheen that her already pale face had taken on, as well as the dark purple circles under her eyes. It was no secret to anyone here that Tonks wasn't sleeping well at night.

"Professor, why don't I take tonight's shift instead? It's no problem to me," Remus offered, a hint of unease and…something else laced throughout his tone as his gaze flitted from Dumbledore to Tonks. He moved to get up from his chair and gently set a reassuring hand on Tonks's shoulder. She stared up at her partner, thinking that she could not quite put her finger on it, but Tonks decided that she liked the incredible heat that the touch of his hand gave off.

When Professor Dumbledore made no motion to speak, Lupin continued.

"Really. I don't mind at all. Just _look_ at my partner, Albus. Tonks is _exhausted_ and is _no_ condition. _I'll_ keep watch over Rosier's place tonight."

Tonks felt her heart momentarily give a flutter that her new partner would so selflessly volunteer to take her place and relieve her of the burden and stress of keeping the night watch, though the moment of euphoria was gone the split-second Albus shook his head curtly, and fixed Tonks with a pointed stare.

She felt her stomach start to churn uncomfortably and a coil in her gut twist.

"Everyone needs to do their part. It will be _good_ for you, Miss Tonks. Get out, get some fresh air," Professor Dumbledore noted pointedly, almost coldly. "But if you are _so_ concerned over your partner's well-being, Remus, then you may accompany Miss Tonks. I see no problem with it. You can take a second watch. Miss Tonks will have to get used to these things sometimes, yes? I would think that now is as good a time as any while things are relatively quiet, Lupin."

Sensing that the Hogwarts Headmaster was not about to change his mind anytime soon, and sensing Remus was about to open his mouth and argue, having seen the shadow of the Wolf dart briefly across his line features, Tonks let out the tiniest of sighs, hoping it was inaudible, and mutely nodded in resigned acceptance. Tonks could, at the very least, agree with that much.

She wanted to do her fair share, as an Order member, and certainly did not want to have anybody else in the Order suffer from extra work on her account.

Not when Sirius and Molly and Remus especially, along with everyone else, had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome, as the youngest member currently in the Order of the Phoenix, and especially in giving her lodging here at Headquarters, to be closer to her partner, while her hand and arm healed.

But still. Tonks frowned, glancing down at her black boots, and scuffing at the linoleum floor with the edge of her boot. She still wasn't necessarily _excited_ about the idea of being put in charge of something so bloody important so soon after her accident. Especially considering she could barely lift her wand yet.

What if she failed to recognize something especially significant and missed Rosier when he was leaving his home, and Remus was killed because of her actions? Or rather, her lack of actions. To be put on night watch so soon following her release from St. Mungo's was a huge responsibility, a burden.

Especially considering Tonks, in her current mental state, did _not_ feel confident in her ability to successfully complete the otherwise simple task.

However, her desire to contribute to the overall success of the Order by pulling her own weight and do her part won over her initial nervousness, and more important than all of those feelings wracking her brain, she did not want her new partner to be killed, _especially_ when Remus Lupin had saved her life.

Professor Dumbledore, having turned his back on the rest of the group in the kitchen, preparing to leave, perhaps had sensed Tonks's initial discomfort at being tasked to undertake such a thing, for the ancient old wizard turned around slowly and shot Tonks and Remus a soft, slightly reassuring smile.

"It is nothing you need trouble yourself over, Miss Tonks. All that it entails is for you and your partner to take turns throughout the night. Watch and listen for anything strange and send a Patronus to my office back at Hogwarts immediately if you should notice anything unusual or suspicious. But I _think_ ," he added, a stern look crossing his weathered, wrinkled features, as his gaze drifted down to Tonks's shaking wand hand, "given the scope of your injury, I would advise you _not_ to engage the enemy should Evan Rosier be spotted."

Tonks nodded, feeling her shoulders slump forward in resigned defeat, and her fingers loosened over the strap of her purse as she let her hand fall to her side. She could practically feel Remus stiffen as he moved to stand next to her.

The young Auror couldn't help but feel immensely disappointed that she would get virtually no sleep tonight, as it felt like she was running on fumes.

Though that, as she allowed Remus to take her hand and Disapparate with her via Side-Along Apparition to a rooftop of a townhouse adjacent to Rosier's location in Bristol, was not particularly the sole reason she was so uneasy now.

Keeping watch to ensure Death Eater Evan Rosier didn't try to hurt any innocent passerby on the streets of Bristol, much less keep herself and Remus safe from harm, given the scope of her current injuries, that she was still healing, felt like to Tonks a very daunting task when it otherwise wouldn't be.

Messing this up, even just the slightest bit, could result in _death_. She gulped. The _one_ mistake that you _couldn't_ come back from, the one thing, among a few other cursed sorts of injuries, and pregnancies, that magic could not help you within this life.

Well, she supposed that you could always come back as a ghost, though Tonks knew she had never wanted that fate for herself whenever her time came for her.

There were many things in life that Tonks didn't mind faking her way through it. _Fake it till you make it_ , as her former best friend Ollie had used to tell her, though the man himself was long dead now. Tasks that could result in the loss of life were not among those things that the young witch felt she was necessarily confident by blindly attempting to stumble her way through.

Quite literally in this case, as she huffed in frustration and stomped, yes, _stomped_ her way over to the edge of the rooftop. Folding her arms across her chest, shivering for warmth, not caring that she didn't have a jacket, she craned her neck down at the street below and watched.

Nothing that she could see. All she could see was darkness. _Just bloody great_ , she thought bitterly grinding her teeth in anger, taking a lock of her purple hair in hand to twist it, nervously chewing on the wall of her cheek.

"But everything down there is so… _odd_ ," she murmured under her breath, which escaped her lips as cold puffs of vapor in front of her mouth. She sighed.

Tonks couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she didn't exactly feel right in claiming that she knew how to keep watch over Rosier when she couldn't even lift her wand enough to fire a Stunning Spell square at the man's chest, should Lord Voldemort's Death Eater get the foolish idea to decide to show himself.

But this had not seemed up for discussion, so, for better or worse, here she and Remus were. Professor Dumbledore had 'volunteered' that she keeps watch over Evan Rosier's home, and when the man made up his mind, there was no changing it, and you would be an utter _fool_ to try to argue with the old wizard.

An entire night in Remus Lupin's company keeping watch over Evan Rosier's house was happening, whether Tonks liked it or not. No discussion.

No matter how uncertain the young Auror felt. She let out a tired sigh as Lupin moved to sit next to her, though unlike her, the man did not let his feet hang over the edge, and he shot her an incredulous little look for doing so.

"You don't fear to fall?" he questioned a note of disbelief in his tone.

"No." Tonks glanced sideways at Remus out of the corner of her eye, forcing a smile, feeling the corners of her lips tugging and twitching, though she knew Lupin wasn't fooled. She didn't feel okay about this at all. What if something…

What if something happened, and Remus got hurt? Or if she did?

 _Then what_? Tonks actively averted her partner's gaze and continued glancing down at the bustling streets of Bristol, at the Muggle cars and buses.

Everyone always seemed in such a damn hurry to get from one place to the next, and she was surprised she could even see the faint yellow pinpricks of the cars' headlights on the road. The moon wasn't out, and neither were the stars.

The skies above her and Remus's heads were dull, grievous, promising rain. Maybe even thunder a little later if they were unlucky, though a simple tent conjured, and a Water-Repellant Charm would be enough to solve that problem. Though if it _were_ to start raining, the rain coming down would likely keep Tonks from hearing anything important, which would impede her senses and ability to sense danger. Tonks stifled a tiny moan, grinding her molars.

As the young Auror continued to stare out into the darkness several stories below them, Tonks began to feel more than a little nervous, and more worried.

She didn't know how to bloody do this without the use of her wand, and it was an important mission that hinged on everything going well tonight, and even the support of her new partner was not helping to ease Tonks's anxieties.

"Remus, I—I am not sure I can… _do_ this…n—no one ever…taught me what to do in Auror Training how to handle this kind of thing without my…without my wand," she whispered, well aware how embarrassed she sounded, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and ducking her head away in shame, allowing a wavy lock of plum-colored hair to fall in front of her face, effectively shielding her vision.

Her confession escaped her lips and the confines of her throat as a low, breathy squeak, and she was surprised to hear the shaking note in her voice.

Tonks's curiosity getting the better of her, Tonks slowly lifted her gaze when she felt Remus's hard, piercing stare practically burning a hole in the back of her skull, and she flinched as she felt Lupin's strong hand come up to cup her chin.

The man tilted her head upward at an angle slightly, forcing the young witch to meet his gaze, who was looking at Tonks with a raised eyebrow and an expression of something unreadable flitted across his light brown orbs, though what that 'thing', that unfamiliar emotion was to Tonks, she did not know what.

"You give yourself far too little credit, Dora," Remus murmured, sounding angered slightly for some reason, as though he did not like it when she spoke down of herself like this. "You _truly_ hold such a _low_ opinion of yourself, Dora?"

Tonks blinked, surprised at his questioning, and immediately cast her gaze down to her hands, which were resting uncomfortably, fidgeting with her pinkish tipped fingers to keep them warm. "N—no," she stammered quietly.

Remus, not at all convinced or satisfied by his answer, frowned, and continued. "You're _more_ than capable of doing this, Tonks," he said softly. "I know as your partner, that you can do this just as well as anyone else in the Order. Maybe even _better_ ," he added, a note of pride in his voice as he looked at her, and Tonks thought his gaze was so intense, that he had pulled her into it and now, she found herself unable to look away from those light brown eyes.

 _Like a magnet_ , she thought wildly, biting her lip but she offered no comment.

Lupin proceeded to give Tonks what she supposed was meant to come across as a reassuring smile followed by a tiny nod, though her new partner had an insufferable habit of always thinking that Tonks was capable of more than she really was, and although, on a normal day, she'd appreciate the vote of confidence, she herself was not feeling good at all about her current situation.

"If you've any doubts, wake me and ask. I'm your _partner_ , Tonks. Let me _help_ you."

His phrase was more of a plea than anything, but it resonated with her. Tonks offered a mute nod and let out a sigh as he turned away for a second. She thought he meant to conjure up a tent and some sleeping bags to get some much-needed sleep. Lupin looked even _worse_ than she did, she knew.

Coming off from the latest full moon, Remus was looking rather haggard, and as he walked away to the other side of the rooftop, whatever for, she could not help but notice with a painful lurch at her heartstrings, that the man walked with a limp.

She had seen eighty-year-olds walk better than her partner was right now, but Remus's condition took a toll on him. She was not a _fool_.

Tonks bit her lip as she watched his silhouette, biting her bottom lip in a slight pout. She hoped sooner rather than later, he would tell her the truth. The young witch sighed and slowly turned her waist back around to continue keeping watch over Evan Rosier's decrepit-looking townhouse, across the way over there, huffing and grumbling to herself in utter frustration. She wished she could _see_ , at the very bloody least.

Lupin was securing their perimeter with the lighted tip of his wand, and she could tell even _he_ was having difficulty seeing, even with his heightened wolfish sight and smell.

A relatively small modicum of comfort, Tonks thought, though it still didn't do too terribly much to improve her mood. She still couldn't see anything at all.

There could be an entire congregation of Death Eaters, or Dementors, or trolls, or Merlin only knew what down in front of Evan Rosier's house, and in this pitch-black darkness, she wouldn't be able to tell the damned difference.

This was a bloody terrible idea, an all-around, bad, awful idea, truly. Tonks cursed Dumbledore under her breath and clenched her teeth in anger and ire. How on Merlin's green earth was she supposed to see anything dangerous worth reporting to the rest of the Order if they couldn't see anything at all?

What _then_? If ever there was the worst possible night to be considered the youngest Order member's test run on keeping watch over a single Death Eater, it was bloody tonight. Her wand hand still trembled uncontrollably, and her entire body ached, and she wanted nothing more than to just go to _sleep_.

Why couldn't Dumbledore have put her on watch duty on a night with a full moon? True, yes, it would mean that Lupin would not be able to join her, and would once again be 'taken ill' for four to five days following the full moon, but if it meant that Tonks would be able to see more than two feet in front of her…

Tonks huffed in frustration and dug into the main compartment of her purse for one of the brownies that Mrs. Weasley had not-so-discreetly snuck into her bag when the older witch had thought Tonks wasn't looking, but she _was_. She unwrapped one of four brownies and brought it to her nose and inhaled, closing her eyes and letting the rich, decadent scent of the sweet treat flood her nostrils, providing her with a temporary feeling of release and calm.

The young witch tore off a small bite and didn't even have to look to know that Lupin had moved to join her, taking a seat on the rooftop, sitting cross-legged, and without so much as a word to Remus, passed him one of the brownies.

"They're good. Mrs. Weasley sure know how to cook and bake, I'll give her that," she mumbled, taking her time swallowing her bite of brownie. Tonks watched as Remus tore off a small chunk and popped it into his mouth and was inclined to agree with her having sampled just one bite.

She exhaled a tense breath through her nose and shook her head in frustration, carding her fingers in her thick wavy strands, her fingers sticky every which way as she continued her nervous habit of running her hands through her hair as Tonks tended to do whenever she was nervous or afraid.

Tonks was able to recognize, at the very least, that she was annoyed at the situation, and with herself. She wasn't like everybody else in the Order. She did not have decades of experience at her fingertips, no amusing stories to speak of. She didn't know how to be on constant alert without the use of her wand for assistance. At least if she were able to use her wand, she could entertain herself.

Cast a Revelio Charm squarely at the front door of Evan Rosier's house, and Tonks and Remus would be able to see directly into the Death Eater's home. But _no_. She couldn't _use_ her wand because her bloody hand was injured. Nerve damage, they said! _Nerve damage_ , of _all_ things! Utterly ridiculous and…

" _Stupid_ ," she growled through gritted teeth, ignoring the quirked brow Remus shot her, trying to pretend that she hadn't seen the pained look he shot.

Tonks could not help but to wonder why the entire Order, or at the very least, Lupin, since the man had volunteered to go with her and keep her company, why everyone trusted her with their very lives when she clearly, _obviously_ , had _no_ bloody _idea_ by Merlin's Beard _what_ the hell she was doing.

"Tonks." Tonks felt her gray eyes shoot wide open in surprise and alarm when she heard Remus's soft voice as the man dared to scoot a fraction of an inch closer. She felt her body stiffen involuntarily at the closeness, though she knew that her partner meant her no harm, and as a result, stayed right put.

She flinched away in surprise when she felt something soft drape over her shoulders, and she squeaked when she realized the thing that sent a spiraling warmth through her body was just a heated blanket that Lupin had conjured.

"I thought you might like a blanket. It isn't much, I'm afraid, but I don't want my partner catching a cold out here in weather like this, and it's better than nothing, I suppose," Remus murmured in a low, thoughtful voice.

Tonks responded in kind by choosing to wrap the blanket tighter around her shoulders as a cold chill from the bitter Great Britain breeze wafted down her spine, and she shot Remus what she hoped was a kind, soft white smile. "Thank you, Remus." She forced a smile, though immediately furrowed her brows as her mind was forced to return to her task at hand: _Watch his house_.

A dry, heated blanket was nice, and she did not deny that it felt wonderful, though it would not necessarily guard against their worst enemy in this regard. In this case, the enemy was not necessarily that of Evan Rosier (though he very much was) but rather Tonks's insecurity and inability to keep a secure watch over the man's safe house and alert the Order to any strange goings-on.

Lupin smiled and reached out a strong hand and gave her shoulder a light, reassuring squeeze that immediately sent a swell of warmth through her body.

Her eyes keenly trained on him as she shifted at the waist to look at him, she thought it was odd for her to make a connection so fast with this man, a man who, until a few weeks ago, had been a Stranger to her, though she had seen his face several times, in dreams, hallucinations in the past, that it was frightening.

All of these unnatural reoccurrences of seeing Remus's face in her dreams and not knowing who the man was at the time, and now, finding him to be very, _very_ _real_ , and also her partner, was more than a little unnerving to Tonks, but…

But there was something about the way Lupin smiled at her, that caused her to give her trust so easily to him as though it were nothing, tentative though it was. There was a warmth Remus John Lupin held a kind of gentleness, a softness of his spirit that she could not pass up and found it rather infectious.

The man listened like he was absorbing her words, not simply getting her 'turn' over and done with, like her former partner in the Order, Snape had done, so Remus could return to some other topic. The more time Tonks spent around Remus, the more that her shattered spirit held itself in the aftermath of all things.

He was, like it or not, the new friend and partner she'd needed all along.

"I _promise_ you, Dora, it's not as unsettling as your mind is making this out to be," Remus spoke up quietly beside her, as he noticed his partner's obvious skittishness and reluctance to look him in the eye, much to his disappointment.

"Really?" Tonks heard herself asking, how small and meek her voice was!

"I remember my first time keeping watch, during the first Order of the Phoenix, shortly after it was founded and came to fruition. I was young. Not much older than you at the time," he added, and Tonks couldn't quite be sure, but she could swear there was a hint of reservedness, a tinge of melancholia in the man's light brown eyes, almost as if he were disappointed in the ten-year age gap between himself and her. "But I volunteered to do it, so did James and Lily Potter. I wanted to feel like my contributions to the group mattered, in charge of something that mattered, and I was so excited at the mere prospect of staying up all night with the Potters and keeping watch over a suspected Death Eater's house, just like the two of us are doing, that I actually volunteered."

Tonks bit the wall of her cheek, her curiosity intrigued. "What happened?" she asked, already knowing there was more to this story, and her new partner had a point that he seemed to want to get across and make sure she heard it.

"Oh, I regretted it almost the second James and Lily fell asleep," Remus chuckled, a light pink blush speckling along his cheeks. Now it was the werewolf's turn to look nervous, and he reached up a hand to scratch at an itch behind his ear. He swallowed down past a lump in his throat and continued. "I felt like such a fool, sitting up on a roof, just like we are, in the dark at night, all by myself while James and Lily slept on a complete opposite roof from mine. I didn't even know what we were watching out for, the three of us. Dumbledore wasn't very specific in his instructions, just to report any unusual activity."

Tonks felt her almond-shaped gray eyes widen in shock and her jaw dropped open, and she leaned forward slightly, the blanket still wound tightly around her shoulders. "That's _exactly_ how _I_ feel right now," Tonks pouted, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "How did you make it through, Remus?"

Remus merely proceeded to smile in a soft, reassuring manner as he adjusted his stance on top of the roof, resting his hands as he sat cross-legged next to Tonks, squinting his eyes to see into the darkness of Rosier's house. "I'll tell you, if it will put your mind at ease, Tonks," he offered kindly, chuckling a little. "As I said before, I wasn't much older than you back then, I was still quite young—"

"You still _are_!" Tonks interjected; her brows furrowed as she frowned. Her partner was only thirty-five, and she wasn't at all sure why he was acting like he was old, because Remus Lupin most certainly was not old. Far from it, in fact.

Lupin brushed away her comment with an airy wave of her hand, which annoyed her and caused her blood to boil within her veins, though she did not want to interrupt the man in full-flow when he was in the midst of story-telling.

That, she supposed, was a conversation to be had for another time, perhaps.

"I felt like I always relied on others to keep me safe, despite being relatively decent at dueling, I didn't…I didn't think myself capable until I joined the Order. I went through this life feeling like I couldn't contribute anything of value. Though Dumbledore saw something in me and thought otherwise, and practically insisted that I join the Order. He did not give me a choice in the matter," Remus explained, his light brown eyes misting a little as he recollected.

Tonks blushed, feeling the heat creep along her cheeks at a rapidly alarming pace as she reached up and tucked a wavy lock of her hair off her shoulder and back behind her ear where it belonged. "I've felt like that my whole _life_ ," Tonks grumbled darkly, looking away from Lupin, suddenly feeling rather pathetic.

Though she was a highly skilled and qualified Auror, perhaps one of the best in her field of work, and certainly the youngest to have been taken on in the last several years, she still did not see herself as good enough or adequate protector. She was _not_ the sort of young woman who was good at protecting others.

But Merlin's Beard, she hadn't been able to protect her former partner at the Ministry, Ollie Brennan, from his death at the hands of Carrow and _herself_.

 _Accident, it was an accident_ , Tonks reminded herself through gritted teeth as she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment in order to regain her composure.

On most days, Tonks was so damn _clumsy_ , almost always tripping over herself in some fashion or other, that she thought it was a miracle of Merlin that she'd managed to keep herself alive for twenty-four years of her life so far.

"I feel… _useless_ …and being assigned a task of this caliber that I know I'm not qualified to take on is only making me feel _worse_ ," Tonks complained. She buried her head in her hands and rested her head on top of her knees, pulling her legs off the ledge of the building and her knees close to her chest.

Tonks did not want Lupin to see her this way, and his next question caught poor Tonks completely off-guard that she let out a squeak of surprise, and felt her body beginning to lean and would have very nearly fallen off the ledge if Remus hadn't shot out a strong arm to catch her and pulled her away from the roof with an incredulous look of disbelief and worry etched on his lined face.

"You hide a lot, don't you, Dora?" Remus asked in an unaccusatory tone.

Tonks spluttered and stammered as she tried to think of a retort to her partner's question, turning to take in the expression on the older man's face.

His inquisitive gaze was steady, his brown eyes wide like an innocent kid.

Tonks released a sharp, short breath. This wasn't even fourth date material and this new guy wanted to play see-through-skin, tonight of all nights?!

"H—how do you mean?" she asked, lowering her voice an octave, as she painfully twisted and wrung her hands together until they hurt, her purple-painted fingernails digging into the sensitive skin of the flesh of her palms.

Remus paused before answering Tonks, his already soft tone dropping to an even quieter octave. "Everything you say is a mask, but each little thing you reveal about yourself gives me a clue as to the real Tonks, not the witch hiding behind…all of _this_ ," he murmured, gesturing towards Tonks's body as she blushed. She nodded, knowing the werewolf was referring to her Metamorphing abilities. "I want to see the _real_ you, Tonks. I'm your _partner_. I want to see the _real_ witch that's hiding behind the shy smile and loose hair. You could just cut it out, you know, and let me into this fragile head of yours, Dora."

This time, Tonks took a physical step backward, at a loss for words now.

Remus just watched, his eyes still like the headlights of the Knight Bus, his expression serene and serious. "None of us would _ask_ you to keep watch if we didn't think you were _capable_ of _doing_ this, Tonks," Lupin explained, patting the ground next to him and motioning for his partner to rejoin him by his spot.

Tonks begrudgingly sat back down, still feeling like her mind was _reeling_. Tonks heard herself let out a tired sigh as she fidgeted with her hands in her lap, not really sure what to do with them. That sounded like the kind of thing Professor Dumbledore would probably tell her in order to make her feel better.

She didn't need to hear any more of _that_ kind of nonsense. Once was enough. It hadn't worked when Dumbledore tried to reassure her, and it wasn't working now, even though it was coming from a man she _knew_ she trusted.

Tonks knew better than most that telling someone they were capable of doing something they'd never done before, wasn't exactly going to make them an expert overnight. The plain truth of the matter was, without her wand, Tonks didn't know how to keep watch, and she hadn't realized until the severe scope of her injuries, just how much she had taken her magic for granted.

And that was _that_. "I—I'm sorry for interrupting your story, Remus," Tonks apologized, still wishing the flushness of her cheeks would dissipate. She wanted nothing more than to steer the subject of their conversation off of herself and back onto Lupin for a change. The man never talked about himself.

So, whatever story he was about to unleash was bound to be a good one.

"Please." She gestured with a wave of her shaking wand hand. "Continue."

Lupin nodded and continued. Tonks drew in a sharp breath of cold air that pained her lungs as she chanced a glance and saw that the man's hand was hovering dangerously close to hers as the two of them sat on this damn rooftop.

Her fingers twitched and itched, tingling at the sudden closeness. For a moment, Tonks was almost spelled by the urge to take the man's hand. Though such a move would be highly inappropriate. They were just partners. _Friends_.

They weren't lovers, barely, _even_! Tonks shook her head wildly to clear it.

"Right, where was I? Oh. I remember. I was around your age, maybe a little bit older, and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I was too proud to even ask Alastor or James for a short explanation of what Dumbledore wanted us to watch out for if I should be looking for a Dark Mark in the sky, or an explosion, or Dementors, or something along those lines before I thought about volunteering. I didn't think, and I suffered for it. I just pretended like I knew what I was doing, so everyone just automatically assumed that I did, and left me alone. At least, you took things a step further and have already proven yourself smarter than me when I was your age, Tonks, by admitting tonight to the others that you aren't sure what to watch for," he complimented. "But not me," he added a note of remorse and something akin to amusement in his voice. "I just jumped in, thinking that I could handle whatever came my way. I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into, and I found myself jumping at every noise. Every backfired car, thinking someone had Disapparated, or the honk of a horn, be it the wind or the hoot of an owl, you name it, I jumped. It was utterly ridiculous." Remus let out a dark chuckle and shook his head in disgust.

Tonks blinked owlishly at her partner, hardly daring to believe. Maybe we aren't so different, after all, she pondered, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Did anything end up happening that night on your watch?" she wondered out loud. "During your watch, I mean. Did a Death Eater come along? Did you wind up waking up your friends? James and Lily?" Tonks asked, unaware that she was hanging onto Remus's every word, though her partner had noticed it.

The corners of Lupin's mouth turned upward in a slight, wry little sardonic smirk. "Well, those two questions have entirely different answers, Dora," he explained with a light little laugh. Even in the pitch blackness like this, his light brown eyes seemed to twinkle in the dark and burn like midnight torches. "No, nothing bad came along, if that's what you want to know, and _yes_ , I _did_ manage to wake up James and Lily and Moody," he confessed, scratching at his hair.

Tonks felt her grin tugging at the corners of her mouth and she didn't bother to stop her light, knowing smile as it spread across her pale face.

"Let me guess. You woke your friends up for nothing," she chimed in.

Remus nodded, confirming the young Auror's suspicions. "Yes."

"But why?" Tonks challenged, curious to know his reasoning. "What on earth could have caused you so much worry and concern you woke them up?"

Remus always seemed so _calm_ and _collected_ during the short few weeks of knowing the man, and to even imagine him losing his composure, Tonks couldn't quite fathom it and was having a hard time just picturing it in her mind.

Whatever must have caused the man to get spooked so badly must have been something truly epic, like a mountain troll or even a hippogriff, maybe. This is why, when Lupin finally uttered what it really was, Tonks found herself even more surprised.

"An owl." Was all Remus answered in response to his partner's question, as he raised his eyebrows, trying and failing not to smile.

Tonks blinked at the man, feeling quite certain she had misheard. "Huh? An _owl_?" None of this was making any sense to her. "You mean like a wild owl?"

"No." Remus sighed and gave a curt shake of his head, carding back that one stubborn lock of coarse, light brown hair that never failed to fall in front of his eyes. Tonks could have sworn she heard him growl in frustration as he fought with the damn lock of hair as he struggled in trying to get it to stay the hell put.

Tonks did not understand and said as much. "I—I don't understand," she began hesitantly, feeling quite certain there was more to this story of Remus's.

"All of us in the Order had our own owls back, then, much like we still do today, and it was my own owl that caused such a reaction out of me. We caged our owls at night in pens of sorts, and I hadn't caged mine very well. I'd forgotten to lock it, you see. And my owl was quite fond of me, and, well, she came flying right out, right towards me. I don't know what she wanted, probably owl treats, I don't know. I couldn't see it well. It was nighttime, and Alastor, paranoid as that man can get at times, _insisted_ on not lighting a fire."

Tonks nodded as her brain slowly absorbed all the information of Remus's story, but did not dare interrupt him in full-flow, though knowing what she knew of old Broody Moody, she could already picture the grizzled old Auror's immense displeasure at being roused from their sleep over Remus's pet owl.

She was secretly relieved to know that Lupin held such a fondness over his owl, much like Tonks did, and how affectionate she was with her pet Bowtruckle, Ptelea, whom she made a bad habit of sneaking him treats and taking him places in the pockets of her shirt that he otherwise ought not to.

Tonks wondered if Remus still spoiled his owl, or whatever pet he had nowadays if any at all.

"Anyways, she came flying up to me with her wings outstretched, gentle as always, but silent. She made no kind of noise whatsoever; I didn't know it was her!" Remus continued, and Tonks stifled a small smile at hearing the note of genuine excitement in the man's voice as he continued his little tale of his owl.

"What happened?" Tonks pressed, feeling she knew what had happened if she knew a thing or two about Moody, but she wanted for Lupin to say it.

"All I saw was a dark, mysterious animal flying right at me, and naturally, I screamed bloody murder. I woke up everyone who was on night watch with me at the time. James, Lily, Moody, Sirius…. They all shot up out of their sleeping bags at a moment's notice, wands at the ready, ready to defend, kill if need to, but when they all saw that it was just my owl and nothing needed to be scared off or killed, then they all turned on me, and I became the center of attention."

Tonks flinched, biting the inside wall of her cheek. "Weren't they _angry_ with you? Especially Moody?" Tonks breathed. Though Remus's story took place well in the past, several years before she was even born, Tonks could not quite explain it, but she did not particularly like the thought of Remus being in trouble by his companions, his friends, and especially not by Mad-Eye Moody.

Even _more_ so when what happened to Lupin was just an honest mistake.

Remus, sensing Tonks's growing discomfort, offered her a soft smile. "No," he answered after a moment to catch his breath and get his bearings. "They weren't. well, James and Sirius thought it was hilarious, but Moody was, I guess. At first, everybody was worried about me. They thought maybe a Death Eater or something just as sinister had gotten a hold of me. I remember Lily, Merlin bless her soul, asking me what happened, wondering why I screamed. She was fussing over me like I was a little boy woken up from a bad nightmare. I screamed just loud enough to wake everyone up, and no one knew why."

Tonks nodded. Not that she'd ever accidentally done this, though one of her first nights at Headquarters, she had tripped over that stupid troll umbrella leg stand and had woken up Sirius's mum's screaming portrait, and the old hag had screamed bloody murder until her cousin and Remus could draw the curtain back and cease the portrait's screams. They'd tried to get it down, but no such luck. At least, not any that Tonks could tell. Sirius was of a mind his mum had put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the wall to prevent anyone from taking it down, and after taking one good look at it and offering her own assessment, she was inclined to agree with him.

Tonks felt her slightly chapped, cracked lips part open to speak, but thought better of it, once she knew that Remus was not _quite_ done with telling his story.

"Anyways, after I'd gotten everyone to calm down with Lily's help after I told them that my owl had startled me and it was just a mistake, Moody got angry with me. I had just woken him up for nothing, and he'd barked at me, saying I wasn't maintaining the practice of constant vigilance and I'd possibly drawn attention to the location of our hideout by being the loudest bloody thing around in the entire area of Wales, which is where we were at the time. But, luckily for me, it didn't take the group long to turn it into a joke at my expense, thanks to Sirius. He _still_ teases me about it from time to time," he chuckled, glancing at Nymphadora out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure your cousin would only be too delighted to tell you his version of events, though you can pretty much guarantee if it's coming from Sirius, he's going to embellish it."

"Oh." Tonks stammered, unable to formulate a coherent reply to Remus's story that he had just shared with her in her mind, not really sure what to say.

She knew for sure that she didn't want something like that to happen to her, because not very many people in the Order, save for Remus, Moody, Sirius, and Kingsley, Dumbledore, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, took her seriously, due to her age. Tonks felt like the Order didn't need yet _another_ reason to make fun of her. They'd _find_ ways. They _already_ teased her relentlessly about her Metamorphmagus ability, always asking what she was going to look like today.

Tonks pursed her lips into a thin line and slowly, methodically, turned her head to look at Remus, who shot her a sympathetic smile and had seemed to guess what she was thinking and what was running through her mind now.

"My point is, Tonks, I messed up, yes, substantially so, but it was fine. I'm sure everyone else in the Order would tell you the exact same thing, that they'd rather you wake them up for _nothing_ than not have them wake up for _something_. While you're on watch, you can never be too careful, Dora. If you think something might be wrong, if something feels a little off to you, you don't _need_ to wait to ask questions, or to wake one of us up if it's an overnight watch," Lupin explained, and Tonks sensed the desperation in his voice. "I would rather tonight, at least, if you see something, if you hear something, and you aren't sure, wake me up, and I'll come to take a look. I… I want you safe, Tonks. We're partners, you, and me. We watch each other's backs, Tonks."

Tonks nodded, though her frown remained. "But I don't want to be made fun of years on end, Remus!" she protested, biting down on her bottom lip.

She was aware she was pouting like a little kid, but she couldn't help it.

"A—and I probably will, considering everything in this city down there," she pointed a trembling finger to the city below them, "sounds monstrous to me. I don't even know what I'm hearing half the time if it's a car or a Death Eater."

" _Tonks_." Remus's voice was harder this time, more urgent, with just a hint of steel, but not one of annoyance. Of importance, and Tonks knew she had no choice but to take her partner's words to heart and listen to the man right now.

She bit her tongue until she tasted blood on her tongue and palate, waiting.

"If you hear anything that scares you, or see anything that frightens you, wake me up. I _promise_ you; I _won't_ make fun of you. I solemnly _swear_ it, even if it's nothing."

Tonks groaned and rolled her eyes. "You _do_ know that's going to get bloody _old_ , don't you, Lupin?" Tonks stared at her partner with a look of shock on her face and shook her head, her curls bouncing slightly as she did so. "You do realize that as long as Dumbledore continues to pair us on missions together, especially ones that last well into the night, you'll be waking up at _least_ ten times when it's my turn to be on the watch. You _do_ know that, Remus? _Don't_ you?"

"And _I'm_ telling you, it's _fine_ , Tonks," Remus reassured her, scooting a fraction of an inch closer, so now that the tips of their shoulders touched.

It sent an electric tingle down her spine, though she did not pull away.

"I would rather be safe than sorry, Dora, and as you admitted to the rest of us earlier in the kitchen, no one's ever taught you how to keep watch before, at least not without your wand," he added almost as an afterthought, before shooting Tonks a kind, white smile. "Well. I'm your partner, aren't I? Let me help you. I can teach you how, now that I've done this sort of thing before way too many times than I can count. Yeah, maybe I'm woken up ten times, nine times, then the next, maybe eight, seven, six, and before you can even blink, you won't wake me up at all, and you'll be an expert in the Order at knowing how to keep watch on guard."

Tonks frowned, still not convinced, and wanting more reassurance. Somehow, she doubted Remus's words. "D'you really think so?" she pressed.

"Yes," Lupin answered without hesitation. He shuddered as a cold chill went down his spine, and before Tonks could fathom what was happening, he'd snaked his way under the blanket, and closed off the gap of space, and pulled an arm around Tonks's shoulder. She was surprised at the unexpected intimacy of the gesture, though considering it wasn't even half of a hug, she decided it was nothing to get too alarmed over, so Tonks decided to let this one go.

Though, there was a smaller part of her that liked it, this closeness. _Him_.

Remus continued, all the while shooting furtive glances at her out of the corner of his eye.

"After tonight, Tonks, once Professor Dumbledore hears how well you've kept watch on Rosier's house down there," he said, with a jerk of his head towards the Death Eater's hideout, "he's bound to let you do it again. I know more about you than you think, Tonks. I know that you think too little of yourself, that you don't think you're good at anything without your wand, but that is _not_ true, and you and I _both_ know it, so don't try to downplay this, Dora," he added firmly, a cross look flitting across his features. "You're smart, intelligent, you have a keen eye to detail that most others in the Order lack, even myself, and that's why I think keeping watch is going to become your new specialty, and pretty soon, we'll all look to you to be the one to keep watch because you're going to be so good at it. With…a little help from me, of course," he added, and this time, Tonks _did_ roll her eyes at the note of pride in his voice.

Lupin said nothing further as he pulled the blanket closer over their shoulders, and Tonks decided that she instantly felt warmer than before.

But why was Remus still here? Tonks, confused, glanced over her shoulder at the massive tent and sleeping bag that Lupin had conjured. He should be getting some sleep. His story about getting startled by his own owl was over.

And then, it hit her. Though she couldn't help asking the question that burned on the tip of her tongue, just begging to be asked, she had to know.

"Are…" Tonks hesitated with a furrowed brow as she looked at her partner. "You aren't going to bed, Lupin. You would… you'd _really_ stay up with me?"

Tonks bit her lip, not wanting to come across as sounding hopeful to Remus, even though she certainly felt that way if judging by the inexplicable warm feeling in the pit of her stomach as it swooped and churned was any indication. It certainly seemed like Remus intended to stick around for a bit.

Or else he wouldn't have bothered burrowing underneath Tonks's blanket! He had definitely overstepped a boundary of their partnership just now by doing that, though Tonks found that she did not mind at all, really.

She… _liked_ it. Tonks wildly shook her head to clear it, not wanting to get her hopes up, nor did she want to guilt-trip the werewolf into staying up all night, when he so very clearly still looked like crap and needed sleep more than she did.

But to her surprise (and secret relief!), Remus nodded.

"Yes. It's your first-night keeping watch, Tonks, and you aren't exactly in prime condition yet to use your new wand," Lupin murmured, glancing with saddened eyes, noticing how her wand hand shook and trembled violently within her lap. "And…there are a lot of owls around here," he joked, but he stared at Tonks with a serious face.

Tonks allowed a light little chuckle to escape her lips as she turned her head back around to the front to face the Death Eater's house. Still silent. All good.

"Thank you, Remus. You—you don't _have_ to stay up with me, you know. You really _don't_. I _know_ you're just as tired as I am, and you've not been sleeping the last few nights," she murmured, feigning innocent as to the nature of his lycanthropy. If Remus suspected that she knew it all, he was adept at hiding it.

But again, Lupin nodded, his expression solemn, more subdued this time.

"Yes, I do, Tonks. It's no secret that I think Professor Dumbledore and the others expect too much of you sometimes, Dora. Given how young you are."

Here, Remus frowned, and Tonks wondered why her partner was so concerned over her well-being. She was not _worth_ all of this fretting, this worrying.

" _Yes_ , you're _young_ , and you _still_ have a lot to learn, and under normal circumstances, I would say tossing you headfirst into the chaos is maybe the best way for you to learn if you have a need to do it fast, but it isn't always necessary, nor is it always the best way. I think you deserve a lesson in a few things here and there, keeping watch, the right way, I might add, is a lesson that I could have used myself back when I was your age."

He sighed and looked at her.

Remus carded his hands through his hair and did not avert his gaze from hers. "If I _had_ …then maybe I wouldn't have been teased so much by Sirius and James, not that I didn't tease them back even better. But Merlin, I still remind Sirius of a few things here and there I know he'd rather forget. There's nothing wrong with needing to take a little more time to learn how to do something the right way, and I'm more than happy to be by your side for this."

"But why am I here?" Tonks complained, lifting her trembling wand hand in front of her face to study it. "I—I'm dead clumsy, I'm young, inexperienced—"

"Because Professor Dumbledore thinks you were the _only_ one right for this job," Remus interjected before Tonks could get off a full head of steam in a tangent. "And, like it or not, Tonks, I'm inclined to agree with the man. Even to _me_ , Albus doesn't always make sense. He's a bit of an eccentric genius that way, in case you couldn't already figure that out for yourself, but he _is_ one of the wisest wizards in all of wizardkind, and I say this with confidence that the man is not often if never wrong in his choices. If Albus says you're my partner, then you're _my_ _partner_ , Nymphadora."

Tonks flinched, though she did not chastise Remus for the use of her full name. "Well, I think he missed something, Remus," Tonks grumbled darkly.

She bit the wall of her cheek as she pondered though even though the Hogwarts Headmaster weren't here right now, that he somehow still had managed to find a way of what was being said, but even then, that did not stop the young witch from lowering her voice until it was a merely hoarse whisper.

"I sometimes think he just enjoys _messing_ with us," she confessed.

Remus laughed, and the unexpected, foreign sound sent a spiral of warmth throughout her system. She couldn't recall having ever heard him laugh much.

Tonks decided that she liked it and hoped he would do it again around her more. It certainly was much better than these melancholic moods of his…

"Tonks, Professor Dumbledore sees a lot more potential in you than you realize, even if you cannot see that for yourself, but in time, I think you'll come to see just how much. He is _not_ a man who toys with people and their emotions as you make him out to be. I know for fact Albus enjoys a good joke just as much as the rest of us, but he would not have suggested to you tonight to take watch as a joke, and _especially_ not if he didn't think you were ready and could handle it. Albus is a good man with a kind heart, and cares about you, and respects you. He would not put your life in danger just for a laugh at your expense, and even if he _did_ , he would have _me_ to deal with," Remus growled. "Being a member of the Order of the Phoenix is going to be an eye-opening experience for you, Tonks, and is going to allow you to experience many things for yourself that you'd not thought capable of doing. Like keeping watch. But you're going to do them, and you'll get through them all. And…you have me."

It did not escape Tonks's attention how his voice cracked and warbled, though he fought it back and swiveled his head to the left to look at Tonks.

"You have me. I'm your _partner_. And the rest of the Order too. We're all here to help you whenever you need it, but I'd venture a guess that before too long _this_ ," he added, gesturing to her violently trembling wand hand, and clasping his hand over top hers before Tonks could ask what he was doing, "will heal and you'll be doing things for the Order much more daunting than watch."

Tonks furrowed her eyebrows into a frown and scoffed, making no move to remove her hand from Lupin's slightly rough and calloused hand over top hers. "And _that's_ supposed to make me feel better, Remus?" she snorted. "Telling me here and now that I'm going to be doing things even _worse_ than _this_?!"

"But you already _have_ ," he pointed out, a somber note in his voice and in his eyes, and Tonks looked away, already knowing Lupin was thinking of Crouch.

She'd had a run-in with Barty Crouch Jr. a while ago that had almost ended up _killing_ her in the process on a mission, and by sheer force of will and a phenomenal survival instinct, she'd managed to escape, though it wasn't without its consequences, she thought as she thought of her injured wand hand and her Splinched shoulder.

Remus merely laughed by way of response as he looked out at the night sky with Tonks.

"It will because you're going to grow because of those experiences. Each new mission you do, each new task for the Order is going to shape you into a stronger witch for it, and it helps that you're blindingly beautiful," Lupin murmured under his breath, "and you should have a relatively easy time of it."

Tonks froze, feeling her breaths catching her throat. _Blindingly beautiful_?! He…he thought she was… _beautiful_. The shock and surprise must have been evident on his face, for Lupin stammered and immediately tried to correct himself.

"Your…your _intelligence_ ," he corrected, "is…blindingly beautiful, and unlike anything I've ever seen before, Dora," he stammered, a pink blush speckling along his cheeks. "You're going to look back on this moment in twenty years, maybe even a hundred, and be so _proud_ of yourself. And we'll be proud of you too," he admitted. " _I_ am," he confessed after a long pause, and he smiled at her.

Tonks felt her shoulders slump in defeat at the fact that Lupin had tried to cover up his mistake. For a moment, just a moment, she wanted it to be true.

She turned to look at Remus, whose unwavering gaze remained fixated on the darkness in front of Evan Rosier's house, not wanting to meet her gaze.

"You _are_?" she whispered, a note of awe and wonderment in her voice.

Remus nodded, and this time, when he turned his head to regard his partner, he did not seem quite so embarrassed. "Yes. I _am_. Dumbledore isn't the _only_ person in your life who has faith in you, Tonks. I know the others in the Order aren't so great at showing it yet since you're still so new to our ranks, but just in the short time you've been with us, you've shown a resilience like no one else I've ever met in my life. You've earned respect from each and every one of us, especially me. You had no obligation to join the Order and put your life at _risk_. You earned half of the Order's respect just by showing up to your first meeting, even when you weren't feeling well," Lupin laughed. "You're doing something completely new and _different_ with your life, and you're _good_ at it."

Tonks blushed and reached up a hand to tuck back a strand of her purple hair as a light chilly breeze blew her hair and bangs away and off her forehead.

The young witch offered a soft albeit nervous little chuckle as she dared to rest her shoulder against Remus's and joined him in watching Rosier's house.

"Maybe you're right, Remus," she murmured after spending what felt like an eternity in silence. "Maybe I'll be an expert on our night watches yet. One day, when Moody and Kingsley give me that raise they _know_ I'm long overdue for, I'll even pay you back for staying up with you tonight. We can sneak away from duty and pay a visit to Hogsmeade and buy out all of Honeydukes' chocolates. Just…eventually, not anytime in the near future. Try not to expect miracles."

Lupin laughed, and Tonks felt her heart give a flutter as it pounded relentlessly against its cage. "I don't think you have to worry anymore tonight, Tonks," he smiled as he glanced over at Tonks and gave her hand a squeeze. "If anyone in this entire Order is patient, it's going to be me. I'm right here where I'm sitting, Tonks. I'm not anywhere else…" His voice trailed off as Tonks smiled.

That much was certainly true. Out of all of them, Remus Lupin was perhaps the most patient and gentle man she had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

She was grateful that Dumbledore had paired her with Lupin for an entire year. He seemed to be the only one in the entire Order patient enough to put up with her when all others weren't willing to give her a chance or look past her ability to change her appearance at will, teasing her out of spite and jealousy.

Tonks knew that even when everybody else was willing to give up on her completely or lost the last vestiges of their patience with her, she could always count on Remus to believe in her abilities, what she could contribute to the group, and give her as much time as she possibly needed in order to sort things out in her mind, and her mind still mulled over him calling her 'blindingly beautiful,' accident or not, it had sparked a touch of something within her.

If Remus believed in her abilities well enough that he trusted her to keep watch and not screw this up, then maybe, just maybe, the Auror really could.

Just knowing she had her partner's support made all the difference in the world. Tonks did not bother to stifle the smile that crept onto her face as she stared out into the darkness with Remus by her side, their shoulders touching.

As the seconds turning into minutes, and the minutes dragged into hours, Tonks did not notice that the entire duration of her first-night watch, Lupin did not relinquish his grip upon her injured wand hand, nor did she notice that as his hand remained to overtop of hers, her hand had stopped its violent shaking.

Tonks knew that as long as Remus was by her side, she would be just fine.

**xxxxxx**

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**The End. I hope that you enjoyed this Remadora One-Shot! Please leave a review! Thank you! :)**


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